{"id":3071,"date":"2012-10-30T10:28:43","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T16:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=3071"},"modified":"2014-09-12T11:58:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T17:58:17","slug":"this-is-what-drives-the-best-teachers-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/10\/30\/this-is-what-drives-the-best-teachers-away\/","title":{"rendered":"This is what drives the best teachers away…"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

NC Teacher: \u201cI Quit\u201d \u00ab Diane Ravitch’s blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boy, I can totally relate!<\/p>\n

It’s part of what drove me to give up my tenure, and it may keep me from teaching at one of my local universities.<\/p>\n

To me, it’s really about trust. Do the PTB (powers that be) trust the people they hire or not?<\/p>\n

Here’s how it SHOULD be (other than the underpaid part):<\/p>\n

In New Mexico, I led a team of underpaid teachers who were passionate about their jobs and who did amazing things. We were happy because our students were well-behaved, our community was supportive, and our jobs afforded us the luxuries of time, respect, and visionary leadership. Our district was huge, but we got things done because we were a team.<\/p>\n

….<\/p>\n

I was given the autonomy I dreamed of, and I used it to find new and risky ways to introduce technology into the math curriculum. My peers looked forward to learning from me, the community gave me a lot of money to get my projects off the ground, and my students were amazing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is how to kill innovation and goodwill:<\/p>\n

I noticed immediately that these people weren\u2019t happy to see us; they were much more interested in making sure we knew their rules. It was a one-hour lecture about what happens when teachers mess up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Any time the “rules” take center stage, it is an indication that they don’t trust you. They are more interested in control than in leadership. They do not, and never wi<\/strong><\/em>ll consider you a<\/em> peer. You will be forever treated as second-class. Even if you suck up to them and support everything they do (including helping them to abuse others), you will never be considered an equal.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I refuse to be led by a top-down hierarchy that is completely detached from the classrooms for which it is supposed to be responsible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I could add those who can’t stand to have anyone be better than they are, so they hobble everyone who might be.<\/p>\n

I will not spend another day in a district where my coworkers are both on autopilot and in survival mode. Misery loves company, but I will not be that company.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s the completely predictable (and avoidable) consequence of ruling through control – it becomes “every man for himself” because being helpful, generous, or sharing results in having your ideas stolen, or being mobbed.<\/p>\n

The mediocre are easily threatened.<\/p>\n

Finally, I\u2019m tired of watching parents being tricked into believing that their children are being prepared for the complex world ahead, especially since their children\u2019s teachers are being cowed into meeting expectations and standards that are not conducive to their children\u2019s futures.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I was in grade 12, I took a course called “Modern Living”. The teacher we had used to have to look both ways down the hall to make sure no-one was listening before talking to us about relationships, sex, and marriage.<\/p>\n

I had thought universities were supposed to places where free thought is protected. Recently, I was talking to a colleague, who felt the need to do the exact same thing, before talking to me.<\/p>\n

How sad.<\/p>\n